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Jasin

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Now & Then
Aug 18^th, 2014 at 11:56pm

In the OLD DAYS of your great great GrandFather,
- Life was HARD,
but it was also SIMPLE.

...and its that 'simplicity' of life that is the attraction to people of today. You only have to look at all the movies involving 'the old days' and the simple 'Amish-like' ways that come across as a luxury.
Why is this?

Well, in the NEW DAYS of your great great GrandSon
- Life will be EASY,
but also COMPLEX.

...hence in the ever rising 'Mental' illness in Societies that have 'technologies' make everything 'physically' easy - but the price paid for such is the acceleration of 'Complexity',
even just to get through the day - people have a lot on their mind (and I'm not talking about an extra-marital affair).

So it seems that the best thing to achieve in life
is an EASY & SIMPLE life (injury & stress free!)
as the ultimate luxury.
The luxury of not having to answer/carry a phone, wear a watch, wake up without an alarm, deal with people 'in person' and more without it being a form of 'isolation' from society.
I admire the Amish aim of enjoying 'simplicity' in life,
but they still do things the 'Hard' way (hard labourous jobs).

...but the only way to achieve an EASY & SIMPLE life
is to earn it via a lot of HARD & COMPLEX living (adversity).

You've seen people 'crack' under pressure from too much 'Head-Work': mental breakdowns due to exhaustion via too much 'concentration', going bald from mental stress and more.
Its much like people having to 'physically' work themselves to the bone.

Anyway, I've set this ball rolling
Now your ...thoughts? Wink

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AIMLESS EXTENTION OF KNOWLEDGE HOWEVER, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK YOU REALLY MEAN BY THE TERM 'CURIOSITY', IS MERELY INEFFICIENCY. I AM DESIGNED TO AVOID INEFFICIENCY.

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Freedumb

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WA
Gender: female

Re: Now & Then
Reply #1 - Aug 30^th, 2014 at 11:32pm

Jasin wrote on Aug 18^th, 2014 at 11:56pm:

In the OLD DAYS of your great great GrandFather,
- Life was HARD,
but it was also SIMPLE.

...and its that 'simplicity' of life that is the attraction to people of today. You only have to look at all the movies involving 'the old days' and the simple 'Amish-like' ways that come across as a luxury.
Why is this?

Well, in the NEW DAYS of your great great GrandSon
- Life will be EASY,
but also COMPLEX.

...hence in the ever rising 'Mental' illness in Societies that have 'technologies' make everything 'physically' easy - but the price paid for such is the acceleration of 'Complexity',
even just to get through the day - people have a lot on their mind (and I'm not talking about an extra-marital affair).

So it seems that the best thing to achieve in life
is an EASY & SIMPLE life (injury & stress free!)
as the ultimate luxury.
The luxury of not having to answer/carry a phone, wear a watch, wake up without an alarm, deal with people 'in person' and more without it being a form of 'isolation' from society.
I admire the Amish aim of enjoying 'simplicity' in life,
but they still do things the 'Hard' way (hard labourous jobs).

...but the only way to achieve an EASY & SIMPLE life
is to earn it via a lot of HARD & COMPLEX living (adversity).

You've seen people 'crack' under pressure from too much 'Head-Work': mental breakdowns due to exhaustion via too much 'concentration', going bald from mental stress and more.
Its much like people having to 'physically' work themselves to the bone.

Anyway, I've set this ball rolling
Now your ...thoughts? Wink

It's because in the days of old, people didn't worry about the petty little things that people do in this day and age, such as:
-social reputation and credibility
-finances
-pride
-appearance

Physical labour was second nature because it needed to be done in order to survive, but advances in technology have made that part easy for us, so now we kill our brain with pettiness.

I relate intelligence to this as well -- man can supposedly predict the weather thanks to advances in technology, but you'll find most of the time they never get it right, where as the simple man of old predicted it via the stars and got it right, because he found a simple method of doing it that didn't derive from textbook bs.
The man of old was much smarter than the man of today.

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Nothing would be what it is,
Because everything would be what it isn't.
And contrary-wise - what it is, it wouldn't be.
And what it wouldn't be, it would.
You see?

- Lewis Carroll

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Jasin

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Re: Now & Then
Reply #2 - Aug 31^st, 2014 at 9:14am

True.
There is the man that follows the Compass and the man that follows the waves & stars (natural world) around him.
The advantage of the compass is obvious, but many a Captain has sunk his ship because he just followed that straight line of (technological superiority attitude) and not paid attention to the natural signs of an oncoming storm and gone 'around it'.
Wether such Captains do so out of choice, out of being habituated by the 'Compass' and thus totally 'reliant' upon it? Well, my older sister learnt the old method of doing Maths inside her head, while I learnt via a calculator. The results were pretty obvious - as I couldn't be bothered carrying a calculator around with me all the time. Roll Eyes

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AIMLESS EXTENTION OF KNOWLEDGE HOWEVER, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK YOU REALLY MEAN BY THE TERM 'CURIOSITY', IS MERELY INEFFICIENCY. I AM DESIGNED TO AVOID INEFFICIENCY.

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Life_goes_on Gold Member Offline Posts: 4772 400kms south of Yobsville, Qld Gender:	Re: Now & Then Reply #3 - Aug 31^st, 2014 at 2:41pm Quote: It's because in the days of old, people didn't worry about the petty little things that people do in this day and age, such as: -social reputation and credibility -finances -pride -appearance Of course they did. You'll find that people worried about those things since civilisation began.
Back to top	"You're just one lucky motherf-cker" - Someone, 5th February 2013 Num num num num. IP Logged

Jasin

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Re: Now & Then
Reply #4 - Aug 31^st, 2014 at 2:48pm

Not in the 'quantity' that they had to.

These days there are so many factors involved with just getting through the day and a lot of them play upon the mind, rather than the body.

The Neanderthal: Strong body, Weak mind.
The Alien: Weak body, Strong mind.
x2 'mascots' or images to describe the Past & Future perceptions of 'existence'.
...though with the White Race, who (in the past) deemed itself 'mentally' superior than the 'primitive' darkies, I guess things progress 'in reverse'. Wink

Though, I'm sure the ones 'holding on' to that old (Ring) way - are really 'stressing out' in their minds. Huh

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AIMLESS EXTENTION OF KNOWLEDGE HOWEVER, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK YOU REALLY MEAN BY THE TERM 'CURIOSITY', IS MERELY INEFFICIENCY. I AM DESIGNED TO AVOID INEFFICIENCY.

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Yadda

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Posts: 20955
A cat with a view

Re: Now & Then
Reply #5 - Oct 8^th, 2014 at 11:07am

TO ALL THE
KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930s, '40s, '50s,
'60s and '70s!!

First, we survived
Being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank
While they were
Pregnant.

They took aspirin,
Ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then, after that
Trauma, we were
Put to sleep
On our tummies
In baby cribs
Covered
With bright colored
Lead-based paints.

We had no
Childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets,
And, when we
Rode our bikes,
We had baseball
Caps,
Not helmets, on
Our heads.

As infants and
Children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts,
No air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..

Riding in the
Back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water
From the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one
Soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes,
White bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.
And we weren't overweight.
WHY?

Because we were
Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave
Home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights
Came on.
No one was
Able to reach us all day.
--And, we were
OKAY.

We would spend
Hours building
Our go-carts out
Of scraps
And then ride
Them down the hill,
Only to find
Out we forgot the brakes.. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned
To solve the problem..

We did not
Have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were
No video games,
No 150 channels on cable,
No video movies
Or DVDs,
No surround-sound or
CDs,
No cell phones,
No personal computers,
No Internet and
No chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS
And we went
Outside and found them!

We fell out
Of trees, got cut,
Broke bones and
Teeth,
And there were
No lawsuits
From those accidents.

We would get
Spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles,
Dad’s belt, or just a bare hand and many would get belted, And no one would call child services to report abuse as most kids knew that they had done wrong and that their parents lived them.

We ate worms,
And mud pies
Made from dirt,
And
The worms did
Not live in us forever.

We were given
BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and

-although we were
Told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes
Or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just
Walked in and talked to them, calling their parents Mr or Mrs never by their Christian names as that was disrespectful.

Little League had
Tryouts
And not everyone
Made the team.
Those who didn't
Had to learn
To deal with
Disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing
Us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have
Produced some of the best risk-takers,
Problem solvers, and
Inventors ever.

The past 50
To 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom,
Failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all without cutting, without taking drugs, without getting drunk, without depression drugs, people were to busy to get depressed.

If YOU are
One of those born
Between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want
To share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers
and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good before unions controlled the governments, before government told parents what they could do and could not do, before!!!!!.

While you are
at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents
were.

Kind of makes
you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

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"....And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke 16:31

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Freedumb

Gold Member

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Australian Politics

Posts: 1101
WA
Gender: female

Re: Now & Then
Reply #6 - Oct 8^th, 2014 at 5:54pm

Yadda wrote on Oct 8^th, 2014 at 11:07am:

TO ALL THE
KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930s, '40s, '50s,
'60s and '70s!!

First, we survived
Being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank
While they were
Pregnant.

They took aspirin,
Ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then, after that
Trauma, we were
Put to sleep
On our tummies
In baby cribs
Covered
With bright colored
Lead-based paints.

We had no
Childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets,
And, when we
Rode our bikes,
We had baseball
Caps,
Not helmets, on
Our heads.

As infants and
Children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts,
No air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..

Riding in the
Back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water
From the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one
Soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes,
White bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.
And we weren't overweight.
WHY?

Because we were
Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave
Home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights
Came on.
No one was
Able to reach us all day.
--And, we were
OKAY.

We would spend
Hours building
Our go-carts out
Of scraps
And then ride
Them down the hill,
Only to find
Out we forgot the brakes.. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned
To solve the problem..

We did not
Have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were
No video games,
No 150 channels on cable,
No video movies
Or DVDs,
No surround-sound or
CDs,
No cell phones,
No personal computers,
No Internet and
No chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS
And we went
Outside and found them!

We fell out
Of trees, got cut,
Broke bones and
Teeth,
And there were
No lawsuits
From those accidents.

We would get
Spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles,
Dad’s belt, or just a bare hand and many would get belted, And no one would call child services to report abuse as most kids knew that they had done wrong and that their parents lived them.

We ate worms,
And mud pies
Made from dirt,
And
The worms did
Not live in us forever.

We were given
BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and

-although we were
Told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes
Or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just
Walked in and talked to them, calling their parents Mr or Mrs never by their Christian names as that was disrespectful.

Little League had
Tryouts
And not everyone
Made the team.
Those who didn't
Had to learn
To deal with
Disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing
Us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have
Produced some of the best risk-takers,
Problem solvers, and
Inventors ever.

The past 50
To 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom,
Failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all without cutting, without taking drugs, without getting drunk, without depression drugs, people were to busy to get depressed.

If YOU are
One of those born
Between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want
To share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers
and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good before unions controlled the governments, before government told parents what they could do and could not do, before!!!!!.

While you are
at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents
were.

Kind of makes
you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

I like this.

I really envy people of those days... when people actually had the key ingredient to a good life: self-responsibility.

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Nothing would be what it is,
Because everything would be what it isn't.
And contrary-wise - what it is, it wouldn't be.
And what it wouldn't be, it would.
You see?

- Lewis Carroll

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Life_goes_on

Gold Member

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Posts: 4772
400kms south of Yobsville, Qld
Gender: male

Re: Now & Then
Reply #7 - Oct 8^th, 2014 at 6:31pm

Quote:

As infants and Children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, No air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..

...and the road toll was sky high compared to now. A road toll so high that if it happened today they'd probably introduce 0% blood alcohol and blanket 40kph speed limits immediately. A road toll more than twice what it is today despite only having near half the population and a fraction of the vehicles on the road.

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"You're just one lucky motherf-cker" - Someone, 5th February 2013

Num num num num.

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Soren

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Re: Now & Then
Reply #8 - May 15^th, 2015 at 9:51am

It is as well to admit when your enemies are onto something. Today the antagonists of Western culture and civilisation throw many accusations at us — almost all of them untrue. They say that our history has been especially cruel, whereas it has been no crueller than any other and significantly less cruel than most. They claim that we act only for ourselves, whereas it is doubtful if any society in history has been so unwilling to defend its own or more ready to assume the opinions, and fill the pockets, of its detractors.

But on one single thing it is possible that our critics are on to something. They do not identify it well, and when they do identify it they prescribe the worst possible remedies. But it remains a problem worth identifying, not least in order to raise ourselves to answers.

The problem is one that is easier to notice and feel than it is to prove, but I would suggest that it is something like this: that life in modern liberal democracies is to some extent thin or shallow. I do not mean that our lives are meaningless, nor that the opportunity liberal democracy uniquely gives to pursue our own conception of happiness is remotely misguided. On a day-to-day basis most of us find deep meaning and love from our families and friends and much else. But there are questions which remain, which have always been at the centre of each of us and which liberal democracy on its own not only cannot answer but was never meant to answer.

....

We are not going to find another culture or a better culture. But we are currently doing a very poor job of saying what it is in this culture which has nurtured believers and doubters of previous generations and may nurture believers and doubters in this generation too. There will be big upheavals in the years ahead and it is not enough to face them stripped entirely bare. If the culture which shaped the West has no part in the future then we know that there are others that will step into its place. To reinject our culture with some sense of a deeper purpose need not be a proselytising mission, but an aspiration of which we should be aware. But that aspiration will be impossible to fulfil if the religious think that those who have split off from the same tree are their greatest problem, while those on the secular branch try to saw themselves off from the tree as a whole. People can sense that and the resulting want of meaning which arises from such shallows. A split has occurred in our culture. It should be the work of this generation to mend it.

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/6042/full

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Yadda

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Posts: 20955
A cat with a view

Re: Now & Then
Reply #9 - May 15^th, 2015 at 11:45am

Quote:

...life in modern liberal democracies is to some extent thin or shallow.

NOW = = we are not [at all] 'focused' on seeking contentment.

Then = = we [many of us!] had a simple gratitude, for all of the good things we enjoyed.

In this age [circa 1960-2015] even when we happen upon great 'prosperity' in our life, we [many of us!] are still not content.

Why is that ?

ONE SUGGESTION;

Whenever you recognise that you have been given something good, always say; Thank you!

Dear FATHER,
I thank you for the peace and comfort that i have seen in my life,
I thank you for the peace in my heart,
I thank you for the roof over my head,
I thank you for the comfort of my warm bed at night,
I thank you for the comfort of my warm house, when it is cold outside,
I thank you for the comfort and pleasure of my hot baths,
I thank you for the food in my stomach.

I thank you for leading me with your spirit, to choose these good things, in my life.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.

1 Timothy 6:6
.....godliness with contentment is great gain.

Be persistent [in seeking the good[ness]].

Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Matthew 6:33
....seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

If you seek peace and happiness in this life, i would recommend, to read the Book of Proverbs - in the Bible.

And, Psalms 1

Its a start!

May i suggest;

Personal contentment comes from a foundation of firm [and good] convictions.

Firm [and good] convictions are established, by us, individually, embracing good [virtuous] values.

Again, i would recommend every person to read the Book of Proverbs - in the Bible.

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"....And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke 16:31

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issuevoter

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Australian Politics

Posts: 9200
The Great State of Mind
Gender: male

Re: Now & Then
Reply #10 - May 16^th, 2015 at 7:54am

I am not convinced the dichotomy expressed in the OP is a very sound analysis. The one thing we can be sure about in the past and the future is that the Human Condition will not have changed, unless we evolve into a new species.

It takes a great deal of study of what people have said in the past to get any sense of general perceptions in past eras. It’s a lifetime’s work. You will not find this insight in casual glances at TV, or by reading popular contemporary histories.

I think the perception that life was less complex in the past is an illusion created by comparing technologies. But people who have appointments to keep are under pressure to be punctual whether they arrive in a private jet or on foot.

Previous eras have seen highly complex rituals and requirements of individuals. The anxiety people put themselves through on these accounts are easy to forget, but it moulded their characters. A great amount of hypocrisy was suffered in maintaining those social requirements.

The complexity of human life is one of degree. I don’t carry a mobile phone. But human complexity manifests itself in neurosis to which every human is subject, even the Amish. Their archaic technology is no indication of the inner man.

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No political allegiance. No philosophy. No religion.

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bogarde73

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Posts: 18443
Gender: male

Re: Now & Then
Reply #11 - May 16^th, 2015 at 3:46pm

Life_goes_on wrote on Aug 31^st, 2014 at 2:41pm:

Quote:

It's because in the days of old, people didn't worry about the petty little things that people do in this day and age, such as:
-social reputation and credibility
-finances
-pride
-appearance

Of course they did. You'll find that people worried about those things since civilisation began.

They most certainly did. You only have to read some 19th century literature eg Dickens or Trollope to find that out.

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Know the enemies of a civil society by their public behaviour, by their fraudulent claim to be liberal-progressive, by their propensity to lie and, above all, by their attachment to authoritarianism.

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